Policy
Leadership commitment, accountabilities, and the objectives the operation will be measured against.
FOPS Solutions
A Flight Operations Safety System a small team can run.
With FOPS partnership, your Flight Operations are supported. We are built for smaller general aviation operators, at a cost that does not require an airline level staffing.
Scope
What an engagement includes.
- Manual suiteAn airline-style operations manual suite, typically Parts A through D. Part A is general: policies, organization, and how the operation is controlled and supervised. Part B is aircraft operating information. Part C covers routes, roles, and aerodromes. Part D is training. The suite puts those policies, processes, and procedures in front of every person who works there.
- SARPs disciplinesStandards and recommended practices (SARPs), including organization (ORG), flight operations (FLT), operational control and dispatch (DSP), maintenance (MNT), cabin (CAB), ground handling (GRH), cargo (CRG), and security (SEC), drawn from the IATA Standard Safety Assessment (ISSA) and the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO).
- Internal evaluationThe FOPS Internal Evaluation Program (IEP) is how you meet the FAA expectation that an operator looks beyond regulatory compliance, finds the cause of a deficiency, and improves the practice before the deficiency occurs.
- The platformFOPS manuals, your information. AI-driven templates capture your operator details, then produce a manual that is yours. Manuals are updated from ICAO amendments, FAA revisions, Advisory Circulars, investigation findings, and operator feedback. The software is on the desktop and in a mobile app.
- Accreditation pathwayWhen you want an external assessment, the manual suite is written so the documented policy and procedures meet ISSA and IS-BAO audits.
Inside FOPS SMS
Essential safety resources: Stay updated with the latest in regulations, safety protocols, and industry best practices.
Risk
Hazard identification, assessment, and controls held to as low as reasonably practicable.
Assurance
Performance monitoring, audits, management of change, and action tracked to closure.
Promotion
Training, reporting, and a culture in which people can stop work.
14 CFR Part 91 operators do not require SMS. A company manual suite is optional. 14 CFR Part 135/121, and the ISSA and IS-BAO Safety Standards all require SMS.
FOPS follow FAA SMS guidance in Advisory Circular 120-92D, and right sizes the policies, processes and procedures to smaller operators, without copy an airline’s resource structure.
The eight disciplines
What disciplines does FOPS manual suite cover.
ORG
Organization and management
Leadership, safety policy, structure, resources, and the SMS that ties the operation together.
FLT
Flight operations
Planning, performance, weight and balance, crew qualification, line operations, and non-normal procedures.
DSP
Operational control and dispatch
Flight release, fuel, alternates, and who is actually controlling the flight before it moves.
MNT
Engineering and maintenance
Maintenance programs, continuing airworthiness, technical records, and control of the aircraft’s condition.
CAB
Cabin operations
Cabin crew training, procedures, passenger handling, and coordination with the flight deck.
GRH
Ground handling
Loading, fueling, de-icing, baggage and cargo on the ramp, and the handoff between ground and flight crew.
CGO
Cargo operations
Acceptance, loading, restraint, and dangerous goods carried within the rules.
SEC
Security management
The operator security program, threat assessment, and procedures for people, bags, and cargo.
Internal evaluations should extend beyond regulatory compliance to determine the causes of deficiencies and detect and implement needed enhancements to company operating practices before deficiencies occur.
What you keep
Standards that move with the industry.
An internal evaluation program is how you stay aligned with the FARs, find what does not conform, and improve the policies before a deficiency becomes an accident. Because the core manuals are maintained in one place, lessons from investigations and from other operators are written back into your suite.
The manual architecture you get sits in tiers. Tier one is ethics, the safety policy and SMS, and the corporate manual suite. Tier two is the department manuals. Tier three is the working suite: notices, forms, and the documents your people use on the day. Supporting material - references, checklists, industry manuals, and manufacturer documents - sits underneath. The structure follows the ICAO Operations Manual Preparation guidance and the rules of the state of the operator.